Let Your Heart Be Light
by S. Vespertine
Summary: Tony wanted to make this, their First Christmas Together, special above all.  Also posted on my LJ, please R&R!


**Written for the Holiday 2011 Challenge over at the it's always been community.**

**Enjoy.**

And as usual, Disclaimer: The characters don't belong to me, blah blah blah, not making any profit blah blah blah, please don't plagiarise, remove or sue, blah blah blah...

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><p><strong>LET YOUR HEART BE LIGHT<strong>

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><p>Pepper looked at the desk calendar and sighed somewhat wearily. It was 5.24pm on a Friday, but not just any Friday. It was Friday the 23rd of December, and it was officially closing time at Stark Enterprises, which would remain shut and non-operational until the 28th, a special concession given by the CEO's office itself, i.e. hers.<p>

All meetings and contracts and talks with department heads, especially check-ups with the R&D department had been smoothly carried out earlier during the week, so no more events or things to fuss over until after the Christmas break. _Thank the heavens for that_, Pepper thought.

SE had decided to forego the annual Christmas bash, which would have this year taken place right at their LA headquarters, since last year it had been their New York offices' turn, in favour of a less formal do, which involved SE employees raising money for three pre-chosen different charities, and then personally handing the sums raised by the 22nd.

One of the charities had been founded by Tony Stark himself, and it involved helping refugees in the Middle East escape from the conflicts in their country and stabilise somewhere safer. The charity also had a budding schooling program as well as a health one, where five schools and one hospital would be built. The Foundation would also run in poorer nations in Africa where it would coordinate with other local non-profit organisations in order to provide the people with better houses, improved hospital care and regular schooling.

The respective foundations were presented with the money that the employees of every Stark Enterprises office in the world had raised – a considerable amount of money, to the tune of six million dollars, almost a third of which was raised by the employees and the rest was matched by a large donation by Pepper herself and Tony, as well. The staff had then gathered within the office to celebrate their huge success and wish each other a happy Christmas, where they drank vintage champagne and ate a light buffet.

It definitely wasn't the best bash SE had ever thrown, but it had met with a fantastically positive reception. The employees had gotten to choose at least one of the charities to support, which had made them feel more directly connected to the endeavour, and many had chosen to give their support to local charities. Since raising money for Tony's new foundation had been mandatory everywhere, and since she was chipping in very generously herself, Pepper had chosen to give her quiet support to one of the most overlooked charities of the lot, and had picked an animal shelter for their local charity.

Overall, though the party itself – if it could be called that – was of a definite sober nature, everyone still felt truly good about what had been done in its stead. Pepper was glad of this because she'd wanted to keep with the times of austerity in a not very stable world of economics, and had gone in favour of doing their part for the communities that needed support more than ever.

Now she was truly exhausted.

And not looking forward to the Christmas Eve luncheon with the Board tomorrow, or the dinner equivalent in their New York offices. At. ALL.

The door to her office suddenly swung open, and there was only one person in the world who would forego the polite ritual of knocking before entering. While she turned her computer off and gathered her things, Tony came round to her side of the desk.

As he bent to pick up her bag from the floor, he placed a quick kiss on her lips and smiled at her brilliantly.

Pepper was too surprised to react for a second, but in the next second she brought her hands up to rest on the lapels of his jacket and kissed him back warmly.

Her eyes twinkled as they took in the happy glint in Tony's eyes, and her smile reciprocated his brilliant grin almost unconsciously. She no longer had to restrain herself completely when she was around him, or more specifically, alone with him. They had both finally worked up the courage to give each other that tiny bit of ground needed to show each other that, though clearly inevitable, their new-found relationship meant a very great deal to them.

This would be their very first Christmas together.

"You ready to go?"

Tony's hands lightly rubbed her back and then came to rest on her hips. The touch itself was innocent of any sexuality; instead it was borne out of intimacy and a great deal of possessiveness. And it never failed to send a little thrill through her. Even though in the past she'd had to firmly squash it down, Tony's unabashedly overt possessiveness of her always made her treacherously feel special. And since their new-found relationship, his possessiveness of her had changed seemingly over-night, and become more grounded in the physical.

That is, he did not restrain himself from putting his hands on her whenever he wanted to, no matter their location or company. Since he knew she had a great deal of propriety, especially in the public eye, he always tried to make sure that his touches were yes, that of a certain affectionate nature, but unmistakeably polite. If he'd ever at all thought to maul or grope her, he'd never acted on it, for the first time in his life; he respected her too much to ever do that to her.

Pepper nodded, lightly squeezed the hands still holding on to her hips, and they naturally fell into step with each other, keeping close. In order to keep at least one of his hands on her enticing hips, Tony simply pivoted on the spot and swung an arm on her lower back, walking her outside.

"I gave Happy his holiday bonus and sent him on his way, so we're driving back in my car." Tony explained as they passed by the last remaining employees in the corridors and wished them a merry Christmas.

Pepper wouldn't admit it out loud, and never to Tony because it would stroke his immensely smug ego, but she found it extremely liberating to be able to express her feelings for him with her body's language, and no longer had to stop herself from touching him or allow him to touch her in any way that gave away the real nature of their relationship; that ship had sailed months ago, and everyone in the office had gotten used to it.

"That was very thoughtful of you. I know you always give him a holiday bonus regardless of whether you will require his services or not, but sending him away early was very good of you."

Tony looked at her briefly and smiled, murmuring that they won't be needing Happy again until the day business began as usual after the Christmas break, so he'd gotten an early holiday like their office employees.

He held the door open for her, and once they were both settled into their seats, he turned on the engine and sped off towards – what would soon be – _their_ home, not just his. He smiled secretly as he wove through the traffic, fervently hoping – though he had a good hunch – that she would like his surprise.

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><p>He'd ordered Italian for their dinner that night, to celebrate their mutual happiness in taking a break from their jobs. Christmas music filtered into the candle-lit atmosphere, courtesy of JARVIS, and they chatted about their day as they consumed the food, which Pepper declared delicious.<p>

Tony felt smug.

He had chosen their menu very carefully, only selecting dishes he knew she loved. And since he knew she wasn't one of those women who limited themselves when eating, thanks to her exercising regiment, for dessert he'd had them bring panettone with a rich, creamy pistachio filling. The way her eyes involuntarily closed at every mouthful, in bliss, brought a warm smile to his face. Dinner with Pepper was also a visual experience for him, which he enjoyed immensely; he lived to see her expressions as she inhaled the large amounts of food. Pepper Potts was no salad and breadsticks girl. And seeing that she was in out-of-control gorgeous, incredibly alluring shape, this side of her turned him on. A lot.

After dinner they sat comfortably in a huge pile of cushions placed in front of the crackling fireplace, listening to the music selection JARVIS played for them. Tony Stark was as much a man's man as he was a ladies' man, therefore he would never verbally admit it to anyone but his beloved – who didn't need to hear him say it in order to know it – that he absolutely loved cuddling with her, and didn't feel the need to throw in his old bold moves or touches. He was perfectly content to just hold her, feel her closeness, and bask in their intimate embraces. He could never quite come close to feeling, when she wasn't with him, even remotely as complete and as utterly fulfilled by being with Pepper.

If there was such a thing as guardian angels, he thanked his for having brought Tony the best gift he'd never thought to actually ask for.

He found himself voicing his thoughts, but was not embarrassed by what he revealed; she made him feel stronger and good, gave him the courage and strength of a lion. He usually only felt so powerful in his Iron Man suit.

"There could never be anyone but you, you know."

He nuzzled into her hair and squeezed her, securely wrapped in his arms and leaning against him.

For a couple of seconds, Pepper did not speak. Despite it not being the first time he spoke of his feelings for her, it still made her feel dazed that the love she felt for him bursting out of her madly beating heart, was every bit mirrored by his love for her.

She lightly caressed his forearms and turned her head slightly to place a light kiss on his bicep.

"I know, Tony."

He was also quiet for a little while, and when he spoke, her knowing him so well allowed her to pick up on the slight hesitancy in his voice.

"I … it's just, and I don't mean to—I never want you to feel that I take what we have in any way granted. I know that I haven't always ah … treated you right, but ever since the whole Expo thing with Hammer and his drones, doing right by you has been a priority."

Pepper disentangled herself from his embrace and turned to face him, resting her body intimately up against his, their faces very close. She stared into his eyes and lowered her voice in the intimate moment, making sure that he understood that she meant every word of it.

"I know that, Tony. You don't need to point out how wonderful you've been since the night 'we' begun with the Rooftop Kiss. I know that you've tried very hard not to screw up, which is why I appreciate what we've managed to build all the more. What we have is a solid, strong relationship based on respect, and mutual trust, and equality and it is very much a partnership in every way. If ever I were to enter such a relationship with you, your level of maturity and the serious intensity with which you have approached 'us' could never have compared to what I dreamed for it."

Tony stared up at her, momentarily mystified.

She was wonderful.

She challenged him, and reigned him, and offered him comfort, but never hesitated in letting him know when he was out of line, and despite all the crap she had to take, she was still there taking care of him.

And the way she was both so candid about her feelings, yet still at times so careful in voicing them out loud … it humbled him.

He smiled lazily at her, knowing well the four-letter word she had avoided saying, and the thought of it brought a conflicting barrage of emotions with it, as usual.

He was terrified of it, and in awe of it, and didn't know what to do about it, and half the time frankly it paralysed him with its strength.

But he'd made tremendous progress in the months they'd been together, taking care to do things right, step by step, because there was no way he was going to lose her once he'd truly found her. And since he'd made all this progress, he felt it was time to man up and do something to show her the depth of what he felt, to make it absolutely clear once and for all that he saw a future for himself that would never involve anyone else but her by his side.

Tony looked right back and stroked her cheek, his voice a pleasant rumble that made her insides quake.

"A partnership based on LOVE. You can say it. L-O-V-E. you know, the whole Tony and Pepper sitting in a tree sort of thing … k-i-s-s-i-n-g…"

Tony proceeded to kiss her soundly, humming his approval at her weight on his body, and the way she lightly ran her hands over his chest, kissing him back. When they broke apart, her face radiated warmth and happiness.

She was beautiful, all flushed cheeks and lazy, come-hither smiles, and happy laughing eyes. He cleared his throat, aware of the stirrings going on south of his belt, trying to tamp down on the haze of desire that steadily rose in him. He didn't want to do anything about it just yet, not until after he'd revealed his surprise.

Man up, Stark.

"Pepper, I have a surprise for you." There. He'd said it, cool as you please, as though it was an occurrence that came about everyday.

Of course Pepper saw right through him, but decided to play along. "A surprise? What surprise?"

Not that she wasn't surprised by the notion of him having a surprise in store for her. She could see how much courage it had taken for him to speak, but couldn't resist teasing him a little.

She frowned, and her gaze turned from surprised to instantly suspicious and penetrating. Her hawk stare. The Potts Stare.

Oh boy.

"What have you gone and done now, Mr. Stark? What mess have you made that I need to clean up less than two days before Christmas? Should I even start thinking about giving your lawyers a call?"

Tony's eyes widened at the implied accusation, his voice becoming higher with distress.

"What? No, no trou – I haven't done anything!"

Pepper raised her voice, sniggering secretly to herself. She'd always loved riling him up, every bit as much as he loved ruffling her feathers just to see her squawk.

"Then what could you possibly have to surprise me with? Wait, have you – Tony Stark if you've donated our art collection again, so help me God, you will not be able to find a secure hiding place!"

Tony gaped at her, horrified. This was NOT turning out in the way he'd expected. He had to do something quick, the mood was almost irreparably ruined.

"Will you just let me finish? And we ARE going to talk about the art collection LATER, honey, count on it!"

He took a deep breath and just told her straight.

"I-cancelled-your-Christmas-Eve-luncheon-and-dinner-with-the-Board-and-we're-going-to-my-parents-house-instead."

He told her all right, if somewhat incomprehensibly.

Now it was Pepper's turn to be mystified. She cocked her head slightly to the side in confusion, and furrowed her brow, trying to work out the rest of what he'd said after cancelled her Christmas Eve –

WHOAH! He. Did. WHAT.

"You. Did. What."

Oh, _hell_. Not the low staccato tone, she only used that tone with him when she was a hair's breath away from blowing her top.

Tony repeated himself, precisely like he said it the first time. And prayed for a good outcome.

Then things changed, and they became almost irreparably _bad_. She took in a deep breath – a sure warning sign of ranting alert – and he hastily cut her off, explaining his genius so that he could (hopefully) divert her attention to how sweet a gesture, instead of have it focused on the how-could-you-do-this-have-you-no-sense-at-all diatribe.

"Baby, I only wanted the perfect Christmas break for us! I know how hard you've been working lately trying to run the company, and you're doing a good job, it's a great job, it's – no one could do any better of it, certainly not me it – I know… okay, rewind. Bottom line is, I know how tired you are, and frankly I couldn't stand the plans we had for Christmas either, all these people and functions and dinners and lunches and what-not. I just wanted it to be our first Christmas together unforgettable, but the good kind of unforgettable, you know, just the two of us in a quiet corner of New Jersey—"

Pepper's smile grew steadily, and her eyes were full of tenderness. She felt her heart tremble slightly at the sheer strength of the tenderness she felt looking at him in that moment. She felt scalding tears prickle at the corner of her eyes. Pepper cut him off and kissed him soundly, enthusiastically showing him just what he thought of the idea.

When they broke apart, a _long_ time later, he looked dreamily up at her, still swept away by their kisses and hearts beating in unison, feeling dazed. He was pretty sure he'd been there with her the whole time, and yet he felt as though he'd been flying through candyfloss clouds in the suit, at mach one speed. All floaty and buzzing. When he spoke, his voice was all rumbly and out-of-breath. She _liked_ it.

"So you like … the surprise?"

She shook her head, smiling broadly, and took his face in her hands again. "Oh, Tony."

They became happily tangled in one another again, and no more intelligible words were spoken that night.

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><p>He'd planned it all, <em>by himself<em>, thank-you-very-much, and it. Was. Perfect.

They would attend a morning breakfast with some close business acquaintances, which included Elon Musk, wish them all happy holidays, and then be on their way to New Jersey that very morning. He had arranged for everything to be perfect, leaving nothing to chance, so as to reduce the risk of unexpected factors coming in to burst their bubble.

The luncheon she was meant to have with their LA half of the Board of Directors today, had been postponed until after the New Year, and since he'd stepped in himself, using his famed, but responsible, charm, the Board hadn't so much as rumbled about this. Clearly they had been sweetened more than enough about the positive praise SE had received for their raise money for charity endeavour. The dinner she was meant to have with the other half of the Board – more numerous and more cantankerous – had been cancelled completely, and he had set up a video conference link to them where they'd straightened the necessary. He had briefed them instead, _three days ago_, and all without her knowing.

Insert swellingly large smug grin here. And this was just the beginning.

When they arrived at his parents' house in the country, in New Jersey, everything was, predictably covered in picturesque heaps and mounds of pure white snow. It had been a while since Pepper had seen snow on Christmas, and everything was just so beautiful, so special.

Tony had cancelled their previous plans of spending Christmas with hundreds of strangers he cared nothing about, as well as any gatherings for Boxing Day and the day after that. They went to the estate on the 24th, and would only leave it on the 28th. Nothing was so urgent at the company that they couldn't do without their CEO for one day after the Christmas break, he'd made sure of that.

Tony was determined to make their first Christmas together a memorable event.

And what a memorable event it was. The estate bordered on a small lake and was well hidden inside the wooded area. No signs of cars and nosy people for miles and miles of gloriously unspoiled and breath-taking, beautiful winter countryside.

They took walks in the woods and around the lake, hand in hand, bundled up in warm clothing to ward off the chill. When they would stop, Tony would put his arms around her slight frame and she would tuck her hand into the warm space between his waist and his arm. And then he would kiss her, and squeeze her, and hold her.

Tony had recently found out that she loved taking photos, and she was quite talented, so he'd surprised her with something else. He'd secretly bought her one of the best reflex digitals he'd found after getting extensive expert advice, and had 'upgraded' it to suit his own originality, and had essentially made it unique. He'd tinkered with the system and was satisfied with what he'd managed to achieve, especially with the holiday plans he had in mind.

Tony had made it so that the camera, which had a small arc reactor installed inside it, would hover as high as seven feet in the air, and had attached a wireless system on it to allow the photographer – Pepper – to see what the camera was visualising, and adjust the shutter speed and use the snap button remotely with the exclusive hand-cam device.

So basically there were a lot of gorgeous photos of the bare trees dusted in snow, and the snow covered wooden pier on the lake, which Pepper had fallen in love with, and had declared it her favourite spot.

Personally, he preferred the ones of the two of them together, holding hands, and hugging, and kissing of course – and what a handsome couple they made! The photos showed clearly how rightly they fit together.

Needless to say, Pepper had _loved_ that early present. And if what she'd done to show him how much, after she'd understood exactly the potential her brand new camera had, was anything to by … well, Tony had some very, very fond memories.

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><p>On Christmas Eve when they'd retired to go to bed, another special surprise had been awaiting her. He'd taken the luxurious simplicity of the master bedroom furbishing, and had added to it with his own careful building, but it all came from the heart. Tony had pinned swaths of gauzy white silk to the ceiling above their bed, letting the fabric hang down towards the floor gracefully, creating a very cosy alcove. Next he'd strung up white paper lanterns and taped them to the ceiling, illuminating the tent-like space of the bed, and to finish the stunning effect, he'd used strings of twinkle white lights cascading towards the floor. He'd done an exceptional job, if he said so himself.<p>

And apparently Pepper had been of a similar opinion, because as soon as she saw it all, with no lights on except the lanterns and the twinkle lights for a full blown, perfectly romantic effect, she'd stood in the threshold, speechless, her eyes wide.

"I didn't use any inspirational magazines. It just all came together on its own, thinking of you." Tony told her, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. She looked at him in that moment, and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. He didn't know what she was possibly seeing, but his breath halted in his throat and he remained silent and motionless, lest he spoil this moment.

Pepper looked at Tony, and all of a sudden she had a clear view of the vibrant, talented person that lay inside. She looked past the every-day genius Tony was used to being, and glimpsed into the hidden, untapped potential of the sweet boy he must have been as a child, thoughtful, shy and so affectionate. It was all there, in his lambent eyes, in his somewhat vulnerable stare, unused as he was to being so exposed to someone. It was all in the careful way he'd pinned the fabric and strung up the lights, and fluffed up the mound of pillows on the bed, in the thoughtful and tasteful way he had draped the white fur blanket at the end of the bed. It was all in the reverent way he was looking at her now, bathed as she was by the warm lights, basking as she was in his love.

Pepper did not speak, simply leading him to the bed, where she proceeded to strip him of his clothes, and shedding her own, using her hands to roam over his strong muscles and silky hair, placing precious kisses on his face, his chest, the arc reactor, feeling the powerful way his muscles bunched up and jumped under her hands.

Their love-making was of unprecedented levels of intensity in its hot, sweet connection. It was as though they had never been so in sync and so joined to one another before that night. Tony loved her fiercely to the tune of his powerful beating heart, and tempered it with the throat-clogging tenderness she stirred in him as no other had ever done. He swallowed her stuttering sighs with possessive, open-mouthed kisses, and she held him to her tightly, wanting nothing more than to be forever joined to him in one skin, and never let go.

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><p>When they woke up on Christmas morning, they were in each other's arms.<p>

It felt like the love he had for her would burst out of his chest if he didn't let it out every now and then by reaching out to touch and kiss and hold her, and so that's exactly what he did that morning as they lay deliciously tangled in one another – that's what he would always do, he vowed to himself, when it all got to be too much inside, and just had to let it out.

For Tony, too, as he looked into her eyes, it was as though he were truly seeing her for the first time. The fantastic and unprecedented depth to their love-making aside, he felt that he finally saw and understood her in a way he had never achieved before. She was a constant challenge and surprise for him. And he loved her. So. MUCH.

And he told her as much again, despite the number of times he had groaned it into her skin last night.

"I love you, Pepper. Merry Christmas."

Pepper smiled, all loving and drowsy, beautifully unkempt in her tangled hair. His heart stuttered.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart."

Tony's eyes momentarily widened, and he _definitely_ liked what hearing that word said by her did to his heart.

"You've never called me that before." His eyes were all lambent and shy all of a sudden, the way they must have been when he'd been a sweet, sweet little boy.

"Say it again."

Pepper's heart turned over, and reached out to lower his head to hers.

"Sweetheart." She kissed one of his closed eyes.

"Sweetheart." She kissed the other.

"Sweetheart." She nuzzled his cheek with her nose, pressing her lips tenderly upon it.

"Sweetheart," She whispered across his jaw, his chin, his moustached upper-lip, running her fingers through his soft hair, "sweet … " and then she kissed him again.

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><p>What a grand morning it was.<p>

They went to a tiny little lake on the other side of the estate and carried their ice-skating boots with them, as well as her very handy new little camera. She sat down upon a rock, and he helped her lace up the white boots properly, letting her check his own, before they both, hand in hand turned to the frozen surface and had lots of fun skating together.

He had wanted to make it memorable, the best Christmas both of them had ever had, and the first in what he fervently hoped would be lots and lots more Christmases to come.

This is what he had been waiting for all his adult life, ever since losing his parents. Subconsciously, he had longed to find someone who could give him that feeling of being loved again, and Pepper had given it to him. He owed her and loved her so much. If this is indeed what Yinsen had meant, when he'd spoken of family, and love, and of having the greatest something a man could have, Tony had to thank him once more for giving him a second chance to have what he'd missed out on in his life.

He hoped Yinsen and his parents were watching.

Somehow, he knew they were proud.

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><p><em>Have yourself a merry little Christmas,<br>_

_Let your heart be light  
><em>

_From now on,  
><em>

_our troubles will be out of sight_

_Have yourself a merry little Christmas,_

_Make the Yule-tide gay,  
><em>

_From now on,  
><em>

_our troubles will be miles away._

_Here we are as in olden days,  
><em>

_Happy golden days of yore.  
><em>

_Faithful friends who are dear to us  
><em>

_Gather near to us once more._

_Through the years  
><em>

_We all will be together,  
><em>

_If the Fates allow  
><em>

_Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.  
><em>

_And have yourself _

_A merry little Christmas now._

_- - -From 'Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas' sung by Judy Garland._

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><p><strong><em>The end.<em>**

**_R&R!_**


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